Underhand header-knife.



A. P. HENBBERGH.

UNDERHAN D HEADER KNIFE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 2, 1913.

1 101 076 Patented June 23, 1914.

X) 1 WTHII 21 3 1; 14 26 I 70 19 j 24 (9 l 2 3 2/ (9 27 v COLUMBIA FLANDGRAPH Cov. WASHINGTON, D4 cv .ADOLPHUS P. HENEBERG-H, OF KENDALL, KANSAS. I

UNDERHAND HEADER-KNIFE.

Specification of :Letters Patent.

Patented June 23, 1914:.

Application filed August 2, 1913. Serial No. 782,654.

To allwhom it may-concern; I

Be it known that I, AnoLPHUs P. HENE- BERGH, citizen of the United States, residing at Kendall, in the county of Hamilton and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Underhand Header-Knives, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in header knives, and as its principal object contemplates the provision of such an article equipped with a removable slidably mounted knife element which may be readily adjusted to accommodate the device for employment by a right or left handed operator.

An object of equal importance with the foregoing is to provide an under hand header knife of the type employed in cutting maize and corn of various kinds, including in the embodiment of this device a body portion adapted for detachable application to the heel of the operators hand, a removable knife element slidably connected to the body portion and adapted to be longitudinally reciprocated by the opening and closing of the operators hand, and a finger standard fixedly or removably secured to the forward end of the knife element and disposed in position to be gripped by the operatorsfiners.

b An object of equal importance with the foregoing is to construct the header knife with such regard to number, arrangement and proportion of parts, that it may be cheaply manufactured, will be durable and efficient in its operation, and may be readily converted from a right to a left handed implement with an inappreciable expenditure of time and labor.

The above and additional objects are ac complished by such means as are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, described in the following specification and then more particularly pointed out in the claims which are appended hereto and form a part of this application. 7 V I lVith reference to the drawings, wherein I have illustrated the preferred embodiment of my invention as it is reducedt'o practice, and throughout the several views of which similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts, Figure l is a perspective view illustrating the various elements of the device in assembled operative relation; and Flg. 2 1s a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Proceedingnow to the description of the drawings, as above stated, the preferred embodiment of this invention includes a body portion, a slidable knife element, and a finger standard, which elements are respectively designated as entireties in Fig. 1 by the numerals 1-0, 11 and 12. Taking up these elements in the order named, the body member 10 consists primarily in a substan tially U-shaped metallic band 13 which is formed of some malleable metal and is shaped to conform to the outline of the heel of the average hand. In this connection, it is to be noted that one terminal of the band 13 is ofgreater length than the other, as indicated at 14, and is of such length that it bears against the ball of the thumb when in the correct position on the wearers hand. In practice, the side portion 15 of the band 13 is curved inwardly intermediate its length, as will be observed upon reference particularly to Fig. 1, so that the portion of the band comprehended at the juncture of the bight portion and the side 15 is shaped to the contour of the hypothenar eminence which, as known, corresponds in both the left and right hands. It is to be further observed that in practice the terminal 16 of the side portion 17 of the band is preferably of such length as to extend around the hypothenar eminence and up the back of the hand to the metacarpal bone of the third finger. As a means for retaining this band in the desired position on the hand, there has been provided a strap 18 formed of leather, heavy fabric, or any other desirable and suitable material. This strap is apertured at one terminal for the purpose of being applied to a securing stud or rivet 19 extending laterally from the outer face of the terminal 14 of the side portion 15. The other terminal of the strap is provided with a plurality of spaced apertures which may be selectively applied to a lateral stud or pin 20 extending from the outer face of the terminal-16, it' being, there fore, apparent that the strap 18 may be adjusted in its length to hold the same on the wearers hand in a secure position; In the preferred form, the strap 18 is provided with a longitudinally extending slit 21 disposed intermediate its length and permitting the insertion of the wearers thumb through the strap, so that there will be no possibility of this element slipping ofi while the header knife is in use.

Extending laterally from the bight por tion of the body member 13 and secured thereto by bolts, rivets, or other suitable fastening devices 22 is a butt-plate 23 which is slotted transversely adjacent its outer terminal as indicated at 2d for the purpose of receiving the shank 25 of the knife 11. Upon reference to Fig. 1, particularly, it will be noted that the shank 25 of the knife is provided with a longitudinally extending series of spaced apertures which are designed to receive a cotter pin 26 by which the sliding movement of the shank through the slot 2e: is limited. It will be apparent that by inserting the pin 26 in various apertures, the limit of longitudinal movement of the shank may be quickly and easily adjusted to meet the requirements arising from variations in the length of the fingers or hand of the user of the device. A second stop element 2?, which is in the nature of a pin or stud, is fixedly secured to the inner end of the shank 25 and acts in the same manner as does the removable cotter pin 26 to limit the sliding movement of the shank through the slot.

The knife 11 is bent at its outer end to produce an L-shaped conformation, as illustrated at 28, and is provided on the inner edge of the l. portion with a cutting edge 29. It will be apparent that by forming the knife with the substantially L-shaped cutting edge, the ease of operation of the knife is greatly increased since the pull necessary to draw the knife through the corn will be greatly reduced in view of the slicing and drawing efiect which the contour of the cutting edge will produce.

Secured to the outer terminal 30 of the L- shaped head portion 28 of the knife is a finger standard, heretofore designated as an entirety by the numeral 12. This finger standard is preferably formed of a metallic rod, straight throughout the major portion of its length but bent at one terminal to produce a substantially hook-shaped conformation, as indicated at 31. The free terminal 32 of this hook portion is bifurcated for the purpose of permitting the insertion of the back edge of the lateral arms of the knife head 28. A rivet 33, or other desired form of fastening device, is applied by being inserted through registering apertures formed in the arms resulting from the bifurcations and in the knife edge. A substantially U-shaped finger ring 34 is revolubly mounted upon the free terminal of the standard 12, and in practice receives the third finger of the operators hand. In this connection, it will be observed that each terminal of the member 34L is bent to produce an eyelet, as at 35 and 36. It will also be observed that the eyelet 36 is mounted for operation in an annular groove formed adj acent the outer terminal of the standard.

It has been found desirable in many instances to secure the device of the present invention to a glove, so that the operator, when applying the header knife to his hand, need only to slip the hand into the glove. There has, therefore, been formed in the bight portion of the member 13, a pair of spaced apertures, indicated at 37, which are designed to receive a thread by which the member 13 is sewed to the glove. It is ob vious in this connection that rivets or wire fasteners, or any other devices of a similar nature may be employed in securing the member 13 to the glove. When the header knife is thus attached to a glove, the second and third fingers of the glove are inserted through and stitched to the member 34 and to the portion of the standard 12 comprehended between its terminals 35 and 36.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that when the operator desires to change the header knife from a right hand to a left hand implement, it is only necessary to remove the cotter pin 26 to reverse relation of the cutting edge 29 to the body portion of the device, and then reinsert the shank 35 to the slot 24, subsequently applying the cotter pin 26. When manufactured for adaptation to either the left or right hand, the rivet 33 is replaced by a cotter pin, so that the finger standard 12 may be removed and applied to the knife head 28 to extend laterally from either face thereof.

It has been found desirable to bevel the longitudinal edges of the transverse slot 24. so that during the reciprocation of the shank, all tendency of binding engagement between the edges of the slotand shank will be eliminated.

In reduction to practice, I have found that the form of my invention, illustrated in the drawings and referred to in the above description as the preferred embodiment, is the most efficient and practical; yet realizing that the conditions concurrent with adoption of my device will necessarily vary, I desire to emphasize the fact that various minor changes in details of construction, proportion and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, when required, without sacrificing any of the advantages of my invention, as defined in the appended claims.

l/Vhat I claim is 1. A header knife including a body memher, a knife slidably connected thereto and removable therefrom, means for attaching the body member to an operators hand, and means carried by the knife whereby the operator may reciprocate the knife through the body member, said last-mentioned means including a hook shaped member having its the i bill secured to the knife and a finger ring fotatably mounted on the shank of the 2. A header knife including a slotted body member, a knife having its shank slidable through the slotted body member and removable therefrom, a stop member carried by the knife, a cotter pin insertible through longitudinally spaced apertures formed in the shank of the knife, said stop member and cotter pin bearing against opposite sides of the body member whereby the sliding movement of the knife is limited in both directions, and whereby the distance through which the knife may be moved may be varied.

3. A header knife including a body member, a slotted butt-plate extending therefrom, a knife having its shanjk slidably mounted in the slot of the butt-plate, stop members carried by the shank of the knife and engageable against opposite sides of the butt-plate for limiting the sliding movement of the knife, one of said members being longitudinally adjustable whereby the distance through which the knife may move may be varied, and an operating member secured to the knife, whereby the knife may be recipro- (cated through the butt-p1ate.

4. A header knife including a body member shaped to embrace the operators hand and to bear against both the back and palm thereof, a strap member carried by the body member and having a longitudinal slit for the reception of the operators finger, a slotted butt-plate carried by the body memher, a knife having a shank mounted for sliding movement through the slot of the butt-plate, means for limiting the movement of the knife, and means whereby the operator may reciprocate the knife through the butt-plate.

5. A header knife including a body member shaped to embrace the operators hand and to bear against both the back and palm thereof, a strap member carried by the body member and having a longitudinal slit for the reception of the operators finger, a slotted butt-plate carried by the body member, a knife having a shank mounted for sliding movement through the slot of the butt-plate, means for limiting the movement of the knife, and means whereby the operator may reciprocate the knife through the butt-plate, said last mentioned means including a hook-shaped member having its bill secured to the knife and a finger-ring rotatably mounted upon the shank of the hook.

6. A header knife including a body member, a slotted butt-plate carried thereby, a hook-shaped knife member having its shank mounted for sliding movement through the slot of the butt-plate, means for limiting the. sliding movement of the knife and means whereby the operator may reciprocate the knife shank through the butt-plate, said last mentioned means including a hook shaped member having its bill portion bifurcated to receive the terminal portion of the knife, and a finger-ring carried by the shank of the hook-shaped member.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ADOLPHUS P. HENEBERGH.

Witnesses FRANK ALTENBURG, PETER EOKMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

